Welcome back to The Best & The Brightest. I’m Peter Hamby.

Tonight, Kamala Harris is basking in the afterglow of suddenly becoming the de facto Democratic nominee, following the extraordinary departure of Joe Biden from the presidential race. But even as the Democratic Party goes all in on their new standard-bearer, Harris will soon learn that the first few days of a new campaign are the easy part. The following days and weeks will be absolutely critical, as Harris tries to seize the moment and reintroduce herself to an American public that never fully warmed to the vice president, all while the Trump campaign plots new attacks on what they’re calling a “dangerous liberal” from California.

🎧 Also, don’t miss my special Media Monday episode of The Powers That Be, where Jon Kelly and I discussed how Nancy Pelosi masterfully leveraged the media to push Biden out of the race, and what to expect from the newly upended veepstakes and likely hybrid open primary coronation for Kamala Harris. Then, on an emergency edition of Somebody’s Gotta Win, Tara Palmeri traded notes with political strategist Steve Schmidt about how the D.N.C. can use this historic moment. Plus, John Heilemann’s got a new episode of Impolitic dropping overnight. Sign up here, here, and here.

But first, here’s Abby Livingston with the view from the Hill…

With precious few weeks until the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Harris essentially took over the entire machinery of her party overnight, inheriting not just Joe Biden’s behemoth presidential campaign in Wilmington, but also...